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Members of the public were detained in the public gallery while the man, who had different coloured eyes, was detained by police officers in a corridor outside the Press Gallery.

When questioned by the Telegraph, the man, who appeared to be in his 30s, swore and declined to answer.

Asked what his protest was about he replied: “No comment mate.” Police officers at the scene declined to say if he was under arrest.

The man, who was sitting half way up the benches the press gallery, declined to give his name. Asked about why he had thrown the marbles he said: “You can ask but you are not going to get it.”

He added: “That was not a protest. Last week I heard them say it was us and them, the elite and us.”

The breach is the most serious in the Commons for 10 years when Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, was hit by purple powder thrown from the gallery.

James Smith, 17, who is on a work placement in Parliament was in PMQs for the first time. He said that the gallery fell "dead silent" after a man in a green coat threw a large bag of marbles over the protective screen.

He said: "It was over the NHS thing, Cameron said something and this man was obviously not very happy, so he got up and threw the marbles at the window and proceeded to swear and use foul language - very foul language.

"It was dead silent, everyone was in shock - a bit shocked that this man had got up and thrown some marbles. It was immediately obvious it was marbles, a big bag of them and they went everywhere.

"The guys grabbed him and he wouldn't go. He was saying "I'm an English gentleman, I have the right to say my bit" and then he got carted off.

"We were just 'wow' - and then carried on watching."

He added: "I don't know how he got in because he had a big green coat on so he has obviously hidden it in there. How has he got in with a bag of marbles? I had a full body search, the guy in front of me did, the guy behind me did."

Another man, who witnessed the security breach but did not want to be named, said that the man had been carrying an A4 size bag of marbles which he had hidden in his coat.

He said: "At the Worcester question this guy stood up and said "you are all idiots, I am English" and threw what appeared to be a bag of marbles at the screen.

"It was shocking at the time because you wonder how he got it in with a bag of marbles. After that the officials came forward and he created more fuss by shouting "don't touch me, I'm English, don't touch me."

"He had no point, he did not make a statement - he just seemed to go volatile.

"We have had various checks coming through and [my partner] had to leave her handbag before coming in, and he somehow managed to smuggle in this bag, about the size of a flour bag. He didn't offer us a game or anything!"

His partner added: "It was a bag about the size of an A4 sheet, full of marbles. There were people around picking them up and the official picking them up. It was quite a shock."

Politicians were quick to warn that security measures must be balanced with the right of fthe general public to come freely into Parliament and see their MPs in action.

Francis Maude, the Cabinet Minister said "I was very anxious actually after 9/11 and that big glass screen was put in, the kind of public galleries behind glass, I thought it made it feel very sorry of alienating."

He added: "Obviously we have to be careful about security and we can't be casual about it but it is really important that this does not feel like a bunker."

Jim Murphy, Labour's Shadow International Development Secretary, said there should be a "thorough inquiry" into how it was allowed to happen but "not in such a way that jeopardises the public's ability, to come along, to be in the public gallery but importantly meet their members of Parliament in central lobby."

"I had constituents with me today... touring around in a relatively free way in the Palace of Westminster is a big part and a good part of our democracy."

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said later: "At approximately 12:30hrs on Wednesday, 22 October, police responded to a disturbance in the public gallery of the House of Commons.

"A man was arrested on suspicion of going equipped to cause criminal damage and Section 5 of the Public Order Act.

"Established security procedures worked effectively and parliamentary business continued unaffected. "The man is currently in custody at a central London police station."

The £1.4million security screen which protected MPs from the attempted attack was erected after Mr Blair was targeted in 2004.

A House of Commons spokesman said: “Following a disturbance in the public gallery during Prime Ministers Questions today, a man was escorted from the gallery by doorkeepers and is currently in Metropolitan police custody.

"The incident did not disrupt the business of the House and there were no injuries sustained.”